Ruffling attachment for sewing-machines



- 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(Model.) 4

J. M. GRIEST. RUFFLING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES. No. 394,972. Patented Dec. 25, 1888.

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(ModeL) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. M. GRIEST.

RUFFLING ATTAGHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES. No. 394,972. Patented Dec. 25, 1888.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEETCE. I

JOHN M. GRIEST, OF BAYONNE, NEWV JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE SINGER MANUFACTURING COMPANY OF NETV JERSEY.

RUFFLING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWINGJVIAOHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 394,972, dated December 25, 1888.

Application filed May 21, 1888. Serial No. 274,660. (Model) The object of my invention is to provide asewing-machine ruffier of simple construction, adapted to apply the power to the best possible advantage, so that there will be a strong leverage at the moment when the ruffiing-blade is about completing its forward stroke to finish a gather, and thereby cause as little drag as possible on the needle-bar,

and also to provide a simple and efficient ruflier, the parts of which are mostly behind the needle of the machine, so as to be out of the way of the operator as much as possible.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved ruffler. Fig. 2 is an outer side view thereof. Figs. 3 and 4 are inner side views, with the parts in different positions. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the foot and supporting-frame of the attachment. Fig. 6 is a detail View of a part of the shank of the blade-carrier and parts connected therewith. Fig. 7 is a detail view of the adjustable nut or stop on the blade-carrier. Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view of the slide connecting the blade-carrier with its operating-link. Fig. 9 represents a modification of the same. Fig. 10 is a detail view of the separator-plate and its shank or holder.

The supporting-fran1e of the attachment consists of a presser-foot portion, A, the shank or upright part of which is provided with a rearwardly-extending arm, a, having a guiding slot, a, for the reception of the bladecarrier-operating slide D.

B is the operating-lever pivoted between its ends to the arm a rearward of the foot, the rear arm of the said lever being connected by the link 0 with the said slide D.

E is the blade-carrier guided in a groove, (6 in the foot A, and e is the ruffiing-blade attached to the front end of said carrier. The shank or rear portion of the blade-carrier passes loosely through a hole, (I, in the slide D, and is threaded for the reception of the screw nuts or stops 6' and e on opposite sides of the said slide. If the said stops be so adj usted that the distance between them is only equal to the diameter of the slide, of course the full throw of the slide will be imparted to the blade-carrier; but if the said stops be so adjusted that their distance apart is greater than the diameter of the said slide there will be more or less lost motion between the latter and the blade-carrier, and the throw of the said carrier and of the ruining-blade attached thereto will be less than the throw of the slide, as will be obvious.

The nut or stop 6' is intended in use to be fixed, and the throw of the ruffiing-blade will therefore be varied by adjusting the nut or stop 6 toward or from the former stop to cause more or less lost motion of the slide. To retain the stop-nut e in any position to which it may be adjusted, I preferably provide'the said nut with one or more peripheral notches, 6 for the reception of a wire-spring, f, which is attached to the carrier E by the set-screw e tapped in the stop-nut e, the end of said spring being received in a groove, 6 in the rear end of the shank of said carrier, as shown in Fig. 6. The said spring is normally in engagement with the stop-nut 6 but may be released from the said nut to permit the latter to be turned by a slight pressure of the finger of the operator.

The stop-nut e need not necessarily be provided with the notches 6 as the pressure of the spring f against the roughened or milled periphery of the said nut will prevent it from turning, although the notches, being more secure, are preferred.

The slide D consists, preferably, of a stud, (1', formed with two shoulders, as shown in Fig. 8, a sleeve, (1 and an anti-friction roller, (1 the hole cl (through which the blade-carrier loosely passes) being made in the said sleeve. In assembling the parts the sleeve is first slipped over the stud until the angular lip d of the former engages the larger shoulder of the latter. The anti-friction roller is next slipped into place and the end of the stud is then inserted in a hole of the link 0 and riveted down slightly to retain the link and stud together.

In the modiiied form of slide shown in Fig. the sleeve (1 retained on the stud d by 5 a small set-screw, (1 the point of which is received in an annular groove, (7, near the carrier end ot the stud, the roller (1 being between the shoulders near the other end of the stud. In both of these forms of slides the 10 roller (1" will have an easy lit between the upper and lower walls of the guidin -slot a of the ru'l'fier-trame, and thus lessen the friction between the said frame and the slide 1).

Owing to the bend in the rear part of the i5 shank or blade-carrier E, the hole a in the foot A is made somewhat larger than the diameter of tlle said shank or carrier to enable the latter to be gotten into place in assembling the parts of the attachment. To retain the said shank or carrier in its guiding-groove in the tootA, the said foot is provided with a transverse groove, (1", for the reception of the rear arm, 9', of the holder G for the separator plate g. The said holder, which is merely a bent piece of wire, is retained in place by a retaining-screw,7:,tapped in the shank of the foot A, the said arm g of the holder being provided with two small annular grooves, g g, and a flattened portion, 9, 0 between said grooves.

\Yhen the separatorplate is in working position, the groove g is beneath the head of the screw 72, and the holder G is thus secured in place; but as the said screw does nottightly 3 5 clamp the arm q the holder may be turned around to the position shown in Fig. 4 to remove the sepai'ator-plate from workin position when it is desired to use the ruifler for shirring; but before the said holder can be 40 turned to the position shown in Fig. 4; it is necessary to move it laterally far enough to enable the separator-plate to clear the bladecarrier E, and this lateral movement of the said holder is permitted by the flattened portion g" on the arm g, the holder being first partially turned to bring the said flattened portion opposite the screw 71, then moved lateral] y to bring the groove g beneath the head of the said screw, and then turned up to the position shown in Fig. at. Thus the sepm'atorplate may be thrown out of or into working position without disconnecting its holder from the attachment, and the annoyance and trouble which sometimes occur from the loss of parts which are removed in changing a ruffler from one kind of work to another are avoid ed.

13y reference to Figs. 3 and i. it will be seen that the link and the rear portion of the operating-lever 13 form a toggle-joint, the two parts of which are l'n-ought into line with each other, as shown in Fig. 3, when the millingblade is in its advanced position in making a gather, the said parts falling out of line, as

shown in Fig. 4-, when the said blade is re traeted, the said toggle being so connected with the blade'earrier as to operate the latter positively in both directions. 'lhisarrangement of the toggle-joint is particularly desirable tor the reason that the leverage of the toggle into-eases as the parts approach the position shown in Fig. 3, and this leverage or increased power is necessary when thegather ap iiroaching completiml, as at such time the strain on the ruflii'ng-blade in forcing the gather under the Tn'esser-Ioot is thegreatest. It will be apparent that the alawe-dtseribetl arrangmncnt oi the parts of the toggle-joint is secured by employing for an operatinglever a lever of the first class, (or a lever which has its pivotal. point or t'ulerum between its ends,) ivoting said lever rearward ot' the needle portion of the attachment, and connecting its rear arm with the blade-earrier or the operatirig-slide tor the latter by a i link. This arrangement of parts locates the blade-operating devices rearward ot the needle or the needle portion of the attachment and out of the way olf the operator.

The needle portion of. the attaclunent is indicated by the need1.(-, -hole a in the presserfoot and by the link (1, by which. the operatin g-lever is to be conntmted with the needlebar. Of course .it will be rmderstood that the operating-lever might be forked, as is common, instead of being provided with the equally common link for eol'inection with the needle-bar.

It will be understood that when the millerseparator plate is adj usted. to its inoperative position, in Fig. 4, and the rutfler is to be used for shirring, a separator-plate attached to the sluittle-race slide, work-plate, or throatplate will be employed.

llaving thus described my inventioml claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a sewing-machine rnttler, the combination, with a supporting-trame and a blade carrier provided at its t'tn'ward end with a rattling-blade, of a toggle formed'by an operatingdtwer and a link, the said lever being pivoted between its ends to the said frame rearward of the pres. nr-i'oot or needle part of the attachment, and the said link. being pivotally attached at its forward end to the rear end ot the said lever and having its rear end connected with the said blad ecarrier,wh ereby the parts ot' the o ieratirig-toggle will be so arranged that they will straighten out or be ln'ought into line when the ruflling-blade is advanced to complete a gather, and. will tall. out of line when the said. blade is retracted, thereby at'lordin the greatest leverage when the strain is greatest, as set forth.

2. In a sewinganaehine rutfler, the combination, with a supportirig-frame consisting of a foot portion provided with a rearwardlyextending arm having a-guiding-slot and a blade-earrier provided with a rutfling-blade, of a transversely-extending slide, 1), at right angles to the said. arm and which is gn'ii'led in said slot and connected with said bladecarrier, and a toggle formed by an o1.)eratinglever and a link, the said lever bein pivoted.

between its ends to the said frame, and the said link being jointed at its forward end to the rear end of the said lever and at its rear end to the said slide.

3. In a sewing-machine ruffler, the combi- -nation, with a supporting-frame consisting of a foot portion provided with a rearwardlyextending arm having a guiding-slot, of a blade-carrier provided at its forward end with a rufiling-blade and at or near its rear end with two stops, a transversely-extending slide, as D, guided in said slot and extending between said stops, and a toggle formed by an operating-lever and a link, the said lever being pivoted between its ends to the said frame, and the said link being jointed at its forward end to the rear end of the said lever and at its rear end to the said slide.

4. In a sewing-machine ruffler, the co1nbination, with a ruflling-blade, of a blade-oarrier having a portion of its shank screwthreaded, an adjustable stop -nut on said shank, a locking device, as spring f, to engage said stop-nut and hold it in place, and means for operating said blade-carrier.

5. In a sewing-machine ruffler, the combination, with a ruffiing-blade, of a blade-carrier having a portion of its shank screwthreaded, operating mechanism for said carrier, the stop-nuts e 6 the latter provided with peripheral notches 6 the spring f, to engage said notches, and the set-screw e.

(i. In a sewing-machine rufl'ler, the combination, with a supporting-frame, a ruffiingblade, and operating mechanism for the latter, of the separator-plate, the bent holder G for said plate having the arm g, provided with the annular grooves g g and the fiattened portion 9 and the set-screw h.

7. In a sewing-machine ruffler, the combination, with the supporting-frame having the foot portion provided with the guiding-groove d of the blade-carrier fitted to slide in said groove, the separator-plate holder G, having the arm g above the said carrier to hold the latter in said groove, the set-screw 71, to secure said holder in place, and operating mechanism for said carrier.-

8. In a sewing-machine ruffler, the combination, with the supporting-frame, the blade carrier, the rnffling-blade, and the operatinglever and link, of the slide D, consisting of the shouldered stud d, the sleeve (Z having the hole (I, and the anti-friction roller d 9. A sewing-machine ruifler consisting of the combination. of the supporting frame, comprising the foot port-ion A and the rearwardly-extending arm (1, having the guidingslot to, the operating-lever B, pivoted to said arm rearward of the said foot, the link 0, rearward of said lever, the slide D, movable in said slot, the blade-carrier E, having the rufflingblade 6 at its front end and screw-threaded at its rear end, the stop-nuts e e onthe threaded part or shank of said carrier, the spring for retaining the said stop-nut e in adjusted position, the set-screw e, the separator-plate and the holder G.

In testimony whereof I aliix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

. JOHN M. GRIEST.

Witnesses:

L. B. MILLER, PHILIP DIEHL. 

